This review is a little long because I have a lot to say about this school. TL;DR -- lots of…read moreschools have great academics but not so great social environments. Saint Nicholas has top-ranking academics, sure, but, what my children learned about themselves and their peers, and how deeply their teachers cared about and fostered that, is what really made this school the very place for my 5 preschool through elementary children.
To put this review in perspective: when I was a child, my family moved to Houston and surveyed top local private elementary schools to enroll me in. I attended one, then another top local private school. Both were academically quite excellent, completely in keeping with their reputations. Unfortunately they were also very cliquish, and because I was the new kid, it took quite a lot of time and effort to fit in, despite having experienced a very loving, inclusive, and thoroughly enjoyable social life at my previous schools. Looking back now, I can understand that the social environment was simply unhealthy at both these Houston private schools. In fact, though I loved learning, my ability to learn and thrive academically was severely compromised by the social situations at these schools.
So here's my review of Saint Nicholas: when it came time for my own children to find a private preschool, kindergarten and elementary school to attend, I wasn't going to assume the social environment at a private school would be healthy, inclusive, loving, or provide a positive social foundation. And, though of course I wanted my children to have the very best educational foundation possible, to provide them with the greatest optionality for later educational and career choices, I also knew that the social and emotional environment at a school is equally important -- possibly even more important, because of the foundational nature of what a young child comes to learn about their own innate value as a human being by how others relate to them.
I, and more importantly my children, found Saint Nicholas to be the same kind of positive, inclusive, encouraging environment that I had experienced myself at the private schools where I had thrived as a child. Classmates were friends. Positive and respectful interactions with classmates were expected, encouraged, and fostered.
It's all about the teachers! The teachers at Saint Nicholas are actually aware of how the students interact, they actually care about this just as much as excellent teaching and excellent curriculum, and, they are very gifted at not only helping the students learn greater social skills, but inspiring them to want to. And these teachers have been at Saint Nicholas school for a long time.
Saint Nicholas will probably show you their top-ranking academic test scores and student accomplishments, or maybe you'll hear anecdotal stories from other parents about how their child went from being behind academically, to being ahead academically in just one year. But that's not what mattered to me, and I don't think it happens just because of academic excellence. I certainly don't think high national test scores tell the whole or even the most important part of the story.
I think what matters most about a school is what the child learns about themselves, and the value of every human being. At Saint Nicholas, my children learned that they were smart, capable, and valuable. They learned that they could thrive in both inter-dependent and independent endeavors. They learned that they were worthy of both respect for who they were, and being called into the greater self they were growing into.
Again - it's all about the teachers. The school administration is capable enough, but I don't believe a school can administrate this. Saint Nicholas has somehow gathered and kept some truly phenomenal and caring teachers.
